Former Norwalk mayor named to U. S. Commission on Civil Rights CT advisory panel

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Former Norwalk Mayor Alex Knopp was appointed Thursday to the Connecticut State Advisory Committee of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Knopp, a Democrat, was Norwalk’s mayor from 2001 to 2005.

Knopp, who will chair the committee, was one of 15 members named to the panel, which will evaluate and report on civil rights concerns in the state.

Appointed were:

• Alex A. Knopp of Norwalk (chair)
• Kashif Abdul-Karim of Hamden
• Jay A. Bergman of Newington
• Alok S. Bhatt of Hartford
• Christine W. Corgel of Westport
• John W. Herrington of South Windsor
• Lilia N. Hrekul of Farmington
• Meghann E. LaFountain of Middletown
• David J. McGuire of West Hartford
• Melanie S. Rausch of Bethany
• David W. Reynolds of Torrington
• John M. Tanski of Glastonbury
• Yanil Teron of South Windsor
• Stephanie A. Wainwright of Windsor Locks
• Olivia S. White of Essex

“Connecticut founded the nation’s first official civil rights agency in 1943 with the Inter-Racial Commission and has continued to contribute to the development of civil rights law in Connecticut and beyond,” Commission Staff Director Marlene Sallo said in statement released by her agency.

State advisory committee members conduct reviews and produce reports and recommendations concerning local civil rights issues, including justice, voting, discrimination, housing and education, the press release said. Congress mandates that the federal commission establish advisory committees in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Appointees to state advisory committees serve two year terms.

“This will be an active advisory committee and I am confident that we will be able to make important contributions to the work of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission that will help Connecticut,” Knopp, newly appointed committee chair, said in the statement.

Past Connecticut State Advisory Committee reports addressed closing the achievement gap in Connecticut public high schools and racial profiling. The committee will meet for the first time in July to consider its plans and priorities.